Finance Committee

Report for August 2017 and FYTD (FY 4/1/17 – 3/31/18)

We’re glad you’re here. This page provides the financial report, along with commentary from the finance committee on performance; as well as any decisions made in the last month or so.

Your stewardship provides the means while God’s guidance and our due-diligence deliver on His will. Our charter is to be fiscally sound stewards, be transparent, and ensure that the financial resources are best utilized to accomplish the mission of helping our community know and grow in Christ.

OPERATING BUDGET

June income was $79,427, and expenses for the month came in at $85256, for a deficit for the month of $5,829. This brings us to cumulative results for the fiscal year a deficit of $13,440. The overall results are an improvement over last year same period, and are in-line with expectations thus far. With the summer months behind us we anticipate income levels to increase, correlated to increased attendance, and that deficit to shrink accordingly.

We have seen an upward trend in expenses the last few months in ‘Supporting Ministries’ area. This includes property management & maintenance. In June the higher expense ($35,529) was associated with a new insurance program and corresponding premium. The great news here is the plan coverage increased and the annual premium decreased by ~ $6,000. However, the new premium was paid in full in June, compared to the premium being paid every 6 months in the past. We also saw increased expenses associated with a new ice maker at $2,875 in August. Overall we’re in line with budgeted expenses year-to-date.

BUILDING/CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FUND

Our current debt from previous facility buildout is down to $767,422. Our current monthly payment on this debt is $10,368. We will continue to pay monthly into this debt until we refinance for the new facilities project.

The Capital Campaign has received a total of $711,830.90 since July 2016, of the total pledged $1.6mm over three years – ending June 2019.

Construction has been delayed as a result of unforeseen county requirements, and is expected to begin in the next few months. This will require refinancing of the current debt into a new loan that also provides us access to fund the construction. The lender has been selected, and the terms are favorable to the church. The next county planning meeting is scheduled on September 28th, where we anticipate final agreement on the county’s requests. Construction has a tentative start date of December 2017.

INVESTING IN GOD’S CHURCH

We invested a principal amount of $418,200 (funds collected for the future use of the facilities buildout) in March 2017, in an interest bearing investment with the UM Foundation. Interest accrues monthly, and these funds are liquid in the sense of being 100% accessible when we need to access them for financing the new facilities project.

An anonymous donor enabled SGUMC to complete a modified audit (AUP – Agreed Upon Procedures) that was completed by the CPA firm of Wells Coleman. The period reviewed was January 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016. This reviews various financial procedures, accounting, and reconciliation of the church. The report was completed in August, and we’re pleased to report no significant findings. There were several recommendations that the finance committee is addressing at the time of this report.

YOUR ROLE

You can help the church by pledging. You can help by giving routinely, every week, month or interval that works for you. This includes times when you’re not able to make it to church. You have two means today to automate your giving:

1. ACH (Automated Clearing House) or Electronic Funds Transfer – You can inform the church secretary, Elena Komarov (ekomarov@shadygroveumc.net), of your intentions. This option has very low costs to the church, and no cost to you. DOWNLOAD FORM

2. eGiving - This allows for routine contributions to be made each month via credit card. To sign up, it’s simple - just visit the homepage of the church website and click on the eGiving icon, or go directly to https://e-giving.org/egivinglogin.asp?id=3500. This option costs the church ~ 2.75% in processing fees.LINK TO EGIVING

If you have any questions or thoughts, you are encouraged to reach out to either the church financial administrator(s) or the chair of finance. Their contact information is below: